Professional Football / Soccer Coach

Highly qualified coach with experience coaching football in 4 different countries

Welcome to the website of Glad Bugariu, a football (soccer) coach with experience at both club and international levels. Having once been one of the youngest national team managers in the history of the game, he now has over 18 years of experience in four different countries, including serving as a national team coach with three different football associations.

Currently the head women's coach at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) in the first division of the NCAA. This is the league where nearly every single player from the United States Women's National Team (2015 World Cup Champions) has played at some point of their career.

As the first ever women's soccer coach in the history of UTRGV, Bugariu needed to create a team from the ground up, a typical assignment for a coach who has a superb reputation in rebuilding teams, sometimes in the most difficult and challenging situations.

Success has followed, with the UTRGV women's soccer team finishing 3rd in the league in 2017, only the fourth year of existence as a team, while also qualifying for the league playoffs in each of year of existence.Further progress was made in 2018 as the team finished 2nd in the league and progressing to the semi - finals of the league playoffs.

In March 2015 another foreign federation inquired about Bugariu's services and he was soon invited to work with the Women's National Team of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He was instrumental in their preparation and success during the Windward Islands Football Championship, where they finished in 1st Place.

Another memorable success occurred after former Middlesbrough FC legend Gary Hamilton, currently the director of coaching at the Houston Dynamo (MLS) Academy South, asked Bugariu to coach the Under 17 Girls team at the club, as part of the growing association between UTRGV and the Dynamo Academy. Within one year of working with this group, Bugariu lead them to the 2016 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP(President's Cup), the greatest success of any team in the region.

The Moldovan Football Federation (FMF) brought Bugariu and his coaching staff on board in July 2018 to kick start the "We Can" project, which focused on the development of the Under 15 Women's National Team. Working with women's national team coach Alina Stetenco and team manager Alexandru Golban, Bugariu had a significant contribution furthering helping advance women's football in the country.

The Romanian Football Federation (FRF) has also relied on Glad Bugariu, as the scout of the women's national team program, to discover players born to Romanian parents in the United States. Through his work the national team player pool for the women's national team has expanded significantly with several players being discovered in the past two years. Notably, Abby Popa (2 Games / 1 Goal) and Gaby Stoian, potentially one of the top 5 players in Romanian women's soccer history.

Before accepting his current position at the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley he was the head women's coach of SC State Bulldogs where his tenure was nothing short of a miracle. After only one year in charge, Mr. Bugariu was able to place 3rd in their league in 2009, the highest finish in history, while also winning more games than the club had in the previous 4 seasons combined. This was followed up by a historical 2010 campaign where the team captured their league divisional title and coach Bugariu was named Coach of the Year.

In 2011 Bugariu was loaned by SC State for 5 months to the Carolina Cobras of the W-league, serving as the inaugural coach of the new professional women's football franchise. Although he was able to lead them to their first ever win, the purpose of the loan was to develop the playing and coaching staff and creating a competitive team for the future. He returned to his position with the SC State Bulldogs in August 2011.

In the fall of 2000, at only 25 years of age, he was named Technical Director of the U.S. Virgin Islands in CONCACAF, a country with a population of only 108,000 people. Mr. Bugariu was responsible for the development of the game in the country, creating programs that resulted in a 120% rise in soccer participation, in addition to creating national teams at every level. International headlines were made with the formation of a women's program at both senior and Under 19 levels for the first in the history of the country. Both teams had significant success, with the senior women's national team reaching the second round of World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF region. Additionally, he was in charge of all national teams concentrating on the youth programs. Using mostly players under the age of 20 for all senior national team games, Mr. Bugariu also achieved the first ever rise in the men's FIFA Rankings for the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Following his departure from the Virgin Islands, Bugariu continued to work toward the development of soccer, this in the state of New Mexico in the United States. During his time in New Mexico, Bugariu served as Director of Coaching and Player Development for Northern FC, a club with over 1000 players. However, with the 2006 World Cup approaching, the Grenada Football Association came calling, hiring Bugariu as the assistant national team coach.

During his time in Grenada, the national team reached the second round of World Cup qualifying narrowly losing to the United States, in addition to advancing from the "Group of Death" during Gold Cup qualifying in Trinidad and Tobago. These achievements resulted in a 13-place rise in the FIFA rankings, the most significant advancement in the history of the country.

From a developmental standpoint, Mr. Bugariu created the Grenada National Goalkeeper Development Program and the goalkeeper coach education curriculum.

Upon his return to the United States he took over the women’s football program at Belmont Abbey College (NCAA II) and his contribution was significant, winning two league titles, two league tournament cups, and a cup runner up spot in just three years.

Born in Bucharest, Romania Glad has extensive experience working at all levels of the game, holding coaching licenses from three different countries and specializing in the development of football, specifically with youth, women, and goalkeeping.